BEREA, Ohio – The Browns have muzzled Johnny Manziel for this week's minicamp, although the quarterback is the most interesting draftee in the world. This is counter to what Johnny Football does with a sure touch on and off the field -- play to the crowd.

In a way, this ability is natural. The Texas A&M product is always doing something to attract attention.

Asked if the children's ear-splitting, high-pitched screams of welcome caught him off guard last week in an appearance by the Browns' rookies at Grindstone Elementary School here, Manziel said, "I don't think much catches me off guard anymore."

Maybe not. In the 24/7 news cycle, camera phones everywhere feed the voracious appetite on the internet for celebrity gossip.

So far, photos have surfaced of Johnny Geyser, fire-hosing a club in New York with champagne the night he was drafted; Johnny Bikini Magnet, partying in Las Vegas with New England's tight end, Rob Gronkowski, over the Memorial Day weekend; Johnny Swanny, lazing in a floatie shaped like the ugly duckling after he grew up and guzzling champagne thereon in an Austin, Texas pool last weekend; and Johnny Hoops in San Antonio at courtside in the NBA Finals.

"I'd rather not see some of that, but he'll mature in a year or two," said ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski at Wednesday's second day of minicamp.

Jaworski was so critical of Manziel before the draft that he said he wouldn't take him until the third round. Nothing Manziel has done in his off-time, however, has compromised the positive view of him in the locker room and on the practice field.

For now, Johnny Football's legend lives in pixels and tweets and texts and on Instagram (including selfies). He would have been TMZ's No. 1 draft choice. But his reputation will only grow as large as he wants it to between the white lines.

"I was looking forward getting out here and seeing the ball come out of his hand. All my study was watching his games and watching his pro day, but there's nothing like seeing the ball come out of his hand and how it spins," Jaworski said. "Because if you're going to play here in Cleveland there's going to be wind. I thought he threw the ball very well. He's spinning it out of his hand, and that's the kind of ball that will cut through the wind."

In a familiar criticism of Manziel's skittering, improvising play at Texas A&M, Jaworski said. "You may see some of that zone read stuff in preseason. Those gadget and gimmick plays are nice. But to pass the ball in the NFL, you have to pass it in the pocket."

All the furor over what Johnny did on his vacation is just background noise. Manziel will continue to "live his life to the fullest," as he said, while looking each questioner in the eye after Johnny and Rob's Excellent Adventure.

But, unlike his friend and business partner, LeBron James, Manziel, in doing so, has not offended local sensibilities. He wore a Mark Price era blue-and-orange Cavs cap to the Spurs-Miami Heat game. James wore a Yankees cap to a 2007 playoff game between New York and the Indians, while sitting in complimentary seats given to him by the Indians.

Rained out of participation in a first-pitch ceremony with the Indians last week, Manziel placated the Tribe fans among his 1 million Twitter followers by tweeting a photo of himself in an Indians uniform as a kid, as proof that they were his first team before he adopted the Texas Rangers.

Some will say these are self-serving gestures. They should be read, at worst, as proactive, diplomatic moves, a concept with which James never bothered. At best, Manziel possesses the mysterious chemistry that can bind players and cities together.

When it was Manziel's turn to talk at the elementary school, on the next to last day of school, he began by asking the little kids, "Is everybody ready for summer?"

Huge shriek of joy.

Then he spoke with a little girl and asked her if she liked football. Apparently, the answer was not so much.

"What do you like?" Manziel asked.

"Sleepovers," she said, shyly.

To another big cheer, Manziel said, "Who doesn't like sleepovers?"

He connects with people, whether it's Gronkowski, who probably would not have wanted to hang out poolside with, say, Brandon Weeden; and the fans chanting his name at the Indians game; and the little kids.

Some of the children were making Manziel's "money counting" gesture when he was introduced. Before you conclude, as I jokingly tweeted, "The Republic is in danger," perhaps it is best to consider an alternative explanation, offered by a confessed Texas A&M and Browns fan who tweets under the name @Champ_ Dawg 9:

"You mean the Cashing in on the work you've put in sign?"

Yes, yes, that's exactly it! The little children certainly will be able to grasp that nuanced interpretation.

And if they can't, it's never too early to learn that in pro sports money is just about everything, anyway.

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